Airbus 340-300 ‘Frauenfield’- Seat 14K
I walked up the stairs to the lounge. No spiral steps but a bog standard flight of stairs. There is a lift but I thought using that was a tad excessive!
I knew from the SWISS website and to a (much) lesser degree from the SWISS forum on flyer talk that the lounge would be no CH. No Spa! No Waitress Service! No extensive menu of food and beverages! No little seating nooks like the gallery or skydeck. What I was not expecting though was a large space with serried rows of black leather chairs all in ranks. There were about 20 or so people occupying the entire space.
I turned right to explore a little and was not impressed. There was a single curvy sofa (the one thing that was not angular) but no small table to host your drink. The view was that of an old office block / car park. The leather chairs has little tables between them. The chairs were also fixed to the floor.
Walking to the other area was no better. There was some glass (a lot frosted) that looked over the 1st lounge, more black leather chairs and a stone ‘feature wall’. For some reason it reminded me of Jack and Vera Duckworth’s stone cladding.
There was a small self service bar area that reminded me more of the T3 Servisair lounge and a food station. There was a further area that was marked ‘bistrot’ and my hopes heightened but soon dropped.
There were a dozen or so café style chairs and tables combinations (high and low), another (identical) bar/food station and then an area with some PCs. The view was of the same office block / car park.
My whelm was well and truly undered but this was to be my home for the next 4 hours so I selected a 2-chair combo (it had a table too) next to the Duckworth Wall and deposited my belongings.
I headed to the self serve bar first. I espied some golden foil around the top of a bottle in an ice bucker. ‘Could it be?’ I thought ‘Things are looking up!’ but my hopes were dashed. It was rather like the fall from grace in PE when the glass of ‘bubbly’ turns out not to be THAT sort of bubbly but some cava.
Not that this was bad cava but it was cava. Still I managed somehow over the next few hours to have a few glasses!
The food on offer was not enticing – a pasta dish of some sort and I had no idea how long it had been there plus it looked a bit on the ‘heavy’ side. There were no other choices – no Swiss chesses and meats for example – other than some nuts and crisps.
I made do with some nuts. I avoided the piles of ‘after eight’ mints!
Yes ‘After Eights’ were the choccy of choice in the premier SWISS lounge in Switzerland!
The Switzerland that is home to some of the finest choccy in the world.
Anyway I read my paper and decided to go for another wander around this hanger of a lounge. I stepped up to the ‘longest lounge bar in the world’ but was met by a fog of smoke – yes it is the smokers lounge. What a waste of space! There were other spaces that could have been used for smokers yet someone in their wisdom had decreed that this premier space (that if you looked at the right angle you could see some of the airfield) would be given a severely limited use.
There were 4 people in there and a rather bored looking barman who cheered up when he saw me but the smoke was just too much for me so I rapidly left.
I then ventured for a walk round the terminal. It was light and airy and clean. Looked very new too. It was not very crowded. I looked at the shops but resisted. Even in duty free the £ prices were not good value plus I knew I would have to undergo security screening and didn’t want to take any risks with buying any liquids.
On returning to the lounge some additional snacks had been laid out – some olives, breadsticks and CAKE had appeared. So a small selection was obtained along with a refreshing Vodka and Tonic.
It was with some relief – don’t get me wrong the SWISS lounge is a perfectly pleasant place to spend a couple of hours but not any longer – that I saw the boarding announcement on the screen so I gathered my belongings – making sure I was ‘screening ready’ by emptying pockets etc and headed for the E gates on the infield terminal.
I had to descent two levels into the concrete basement to take the ‘Heidi’ train from Terminal B to Terminal E. I just missed one but the next soon came and I boarded. The journey took a couple of minutes and was unremarkable. I ascended (via escalator not clouds of angels – I am not Honey Lamb in the Holy Land) up to departures level and headed for the screening queue. Making my way round the tensa maze there were two separate queues but the monitor was careful in filtering through pax through evenly.
There was some impatience in the queue behind me about the slow movement of the queue from some of our US cousins but to me the line was moving quickly enough with any hold ups being caused by (US) pax not being ready for screening. It was here I heard some mutterings about ‘excessive European security’ but was cheered by someone loudly stated that these were TSA regulations and complainers should write to their congressional representatives. Well that soon quieted things down!
Seeing the time the monitor sensibly called ‘New York’ pax forward but this caused some confusion as there was a ‘Newark’ flight as well but there were not many pax. What she did do was check boarding passes for these pax and one said it was in his bag. Well she took no nonsense and refused to let him through without seeing it and when he did produce it was for the BOS flight so she sent him to the back (not just to his previous place) of the queue with the comment that ‘we are all adults here!’ Well done her!
I was soon cleared, unlike the couple in front of me (being prepared helps) then after belting up made my way to the gate but was met by a longish queue for passport checks, But I saw a red Swiss sign offering priority checking for 1st and Business pax so I availed myself of this perk. I could then head to the gate which as I did so the 2nd round of priority boarding for 1st and Business and a long list of various airline status was announced so flashing my BP I joined that queue. A quick ‘beep’ and an ‘enjoy your flight Mr Bear’ and I was heading down the jet way to board ‘Frauenfield’
A ‘welcome on board’ was given (no name check though – I think it’s a bit much to expect this on boarding) and I was directed to 14k and I was pleasantly impressed. The seat itself was next to the side wall and to my left was a large ‘consol’ where the table and IFE controller were hidden. There was a large space in front of me (that was the consol of 12k) for my feet and a little cubby hole for shoes. After arranging my things (Tonty and Beary on the consol) I put my carryon into the overhead.
My CC then headed towards me to greet me and offer me the usual amenity kit (very poor) and headphones and any request for a drink. This time I would have proper champers and a v nice variety it was too and, for purely quality control purposes, I somehow managed to have another along with some OJ!
Boarding was proceeding with the usual looks of envy from the Y pax heading through the cabin.
My seat was immediately in front of a bulkhead and the person in the front row of Y thought it would be nice (for her) if she put her things behind my seat. However the CC spotted this and quickly returned the said items. What was not spotted was the Y pax who dumped his bags into the O/H. However although this annoyed me I didn’t say anything,
Within the cabin there is a 1-2-1 or a 2-2-1 layout. Obviously I had chosen a 1 seat but the ‘2s’ did not look uncomfortable or crowded. The cabin was full – nary a spare seat to be had!
Take off was smooth and we soon reached altitude and the crew were released. The thick and heavy curtain between Y and J was secured and I was not disturbed by Y at all during the flight.
Then disaster struck! My IFE screen that has been playing generic information went blank. This was just as the CC announced that the IFE was operational. Panic (almost) struck me. How could I manage with no IFE (not that the choice was that good)?
I mean if I wanted NO IFE I’d book LGW-LAS in Y on VS! I scanned the cabin for an elusive spare seat with working IFE I could move to but there were NONE!
I saw a member of CC and waved (politely not frantically) them over and pointed at the screen and mumbled ‘not working’ (I was probably more coherent than that but that gap between brain and mouth is quite long and some words do get lost …) The system was rebooted for the K aisle and the screen stared with one of those ‘installing’ screens. Then it went blank again (eek) then more installation before a proper screen appeared. I selected my film and then IT WENT BLANK AGAIN!
NOOOOOOOOOoooooooo…………..
The male CC who had rebooted the system came down the K side to check all was well and I pointed at the screen! He pulled out the controller and pressed a few buttons and it started! Like a total idiot, when sorting my self out preparing for my drink etc I had pressed the pause button on the IFE which as that moment in the film prelims was a black screen!
The drinks service was a little slow but no matter, I meant I would peruse the ‘Lunch’ menu even though it was well after 6.00 PM! CC came down the cabin front to back taking orders and used Pax names. Despite being in the last row and the last person to be asked I was simply asked what I wanted for dinner and not what my 1st and 2nd choices were. Am not sure if it was because I chose an unpopular option or people weren’t eating there was no problem with the beef dish I had selected.
I played with my seat a little to see the combinations before finding a comfortable position and the drinks trolley arrived – they served back to front so I was first. They had to open a bottle of champers for me ! – a rather nice Brut Mosaique – Jacquart, Reims, France
Food soon arrived and I had
Starter - Poached salmon with basis coulis and artichokes with bread rolls.
Entrée – Beef pot-roast with preserved oranges, potato and lemon mousseline and autumn vegetables
Cheese – a Brie like one, a soft hard cheese and a hard hard cheese! – the names were not listed
Dessert – Limoncello crème with biscotti
Coffee and a choccy and a nice glass of port!
As you can see a certain Bear wanted to help himself !
Wines – I changed to a nice Chasselas – La Colombe Fechy AOC La Cote and the port was Porto Niepoort Tawny, Niepoort Vinhos, Douro Portugal
The food was absolutely delicious and well presented. There was no rush to finish and the CC were ensuring everyone was happy.
Right back to the film! It was AOVD but the selection of films was not that good. There were also the usual TV and Music channels. The TV etc was the same out and back but the films varied.
I chose the film ‘Agora’ set in 4thC Alexandria. A tale of maths, physics, philosophy, unrequited love and Christian fundamentalists taking over the city with a touch of violence, well manicured eyebrows and beards and a range of chunky knitwear that was dishevelled yet new all at the same time. It is well worth a watch but as several of the chaps look like each other it was hard to tell who was who so some concentration was required.
Unfortunately I dozed off a couple of times so, in the absence of anything else, I watched it again
Initially the CC made a couple of formal drinks runs but after a few hours this was replaced with a more general checking and ‘would you like anything sir’ which I think is actually better than a formal drinks service – and more like the VS service.
All of the CC were friendly and efficient and willing to help. There was the equivalent of the FSM (maitre de cabin I think) that was visible in the Business and I guess the 1st Cabin too. Did not see him go to Y. They all seamed to work together and pass on information to each other so after the first time I was spoken to and they realised I was English I was only addressed in English from that point which saved time for them and me.
When I nipped to the toilet I was asked if I needed anything. My red ‘heart’ lounge pants were much admired. I noticed that at least 50% of the cabin had laptops and notebooks out and people were working.
There were a few spots of turbulence and the signs were put on but not for long.
We were served an ice cream about ½ through the flight and 1½ hours before landing we had what the menu described as ‘light meal’ but which was some ham, potato salad and green beans individually served from the trolley and not preplated There was no other choice available but it filled a gap and I guess if I wanted more I could have had some cheese etc.
We were given plenty of notice about preparing for landing so there was no rush to use the toilet like there is on VS.
Landing was a little bumpy and we taxied around BOS but not for too long. I started to wonder about the lines at immigration and when I saw BA and Iberia planes I thought ‘eek’ but the hall turned out to be empty.
As usual the CC made the ‘stay seated until the lights come off’ announcement and as usual there were one or two who ignored this. Ditto re the not using mobile phones!
Disembarkation was smooth. It looked like there was a CC posted at the Y/J border to ensure than the J cabin cleared before Y was let through – I heard a moan about this but this was responded to with a reasonable reply ‘that it made sense to clear the J cabin as it was quicker for everyone’.
I walked (normal speed) towards immigration and I was the 2nd European to arrive at the barrier. The US queue was rapidly growing. I was quickly allocated an INS agent and did the usual finger prints and photo. I was only asked how long and why I was visiting. My passport was stamped and some code written on the customs form and I was (gasp! shock!) given a ‘welcome to Boston and have a great time!’
Bags seamed to take a while to emerge such that it looked like a good ½ of the flight made it through INS before the belt started.
My case was off fairly soon (with a J cabin of 40+ and status giving priority bags to more I am not sure how priority is a priority any more) and I headed to customs where I was waved through.
I walk to the taxi rank (and a blast of freezzzinngggggg air) and was soon on my way to the Lenox Hotel. For regular BOS travellers this cost me from Logan to the Copley Square area $ 35 including tip (I will shock you at the cost of my return trip when I do the TR for it!)
Overall Impressions
Zurich Lounge – a touch (well more than that) impersonal. Very little staff interaction but as they are essentially there to clear up and top up the bar maybe this is not a surprise. Limited food and drink choice grated slightly as did the 100% self service nature. It was a bit too organised – all seats in straight rows – no small areas for groups and only a few pairs of seats for couples and us singles. One definite bad impression was the large ‘DO NOT REMOVE FROM LOUNGE’ stickers on the papers and magazines.
SWISS Flight – It was simply Excellent. I was very impressed with the entire experience. The seat, the cleanliness, the IFE, food and the crew. I would definitely consider them again especially if they price better than VS which they probably will as the fare I paid was not a SWISS sale fare. One thing I would change though is getting a later flight to Zurich. I only got the 10.00 feeder because I was worried about missing the BOS flight if the later LON flight was delayed.
Logan – Immigration and Customs very friendly and quick – BUT the flight does arrive 7.30 / 8.00 so probably not surprising
Huzzah for International Jet-setting !
) and tend to forget what a competitive business this all is. 
) Loved all the details and the pics. You really must go away more often 
